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Bmack's Astronaut High School football dynasty

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
January 28, 1986

The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds after liftoff, killing its crew of 7 members.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Challenger_disaster

I was 9 years old in 4[sup]th[/sup] grade. I remember the entire school going outside to watch the launch. This is really the only time I remember doing that while in school. This was probably because this was the mission with the “Teacher in Space.”

My dad worked at the Space Center for Morton Thiokol at the time.

 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
SEPTEMBER 1986

SPACE COAST FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW
ASTRONAUT WAR EAGLES
HEAD COACH: B. MACK (15[sup]th[/sup] year, 139-24, 1 State Championship, 4 Sectional Championships, 8 Regional Championships, 10 district championships)
CLASS/DISTRICT: 3A, 5
1985 RECORD: 10-1 (District Champions)
Roster Size: 40 (23 seniors, 25 juniors, 4 sophomores)


SENIORS CARRY ON TRADITION FOR WAR EAGLES

Astronaut once again will be a favorite on the Space Coast to capture a district crown. Leading the way will be a talented senior class which will try to extend a 35 game regular season winning streak. The War Eagles lost only 9 seniors to graduation from last year’s team and boast a strong class seniors. They will have a chance to break the state record this season, which is held by now-defunct Euclid high school of Deland, which won 40 straight regular season games from 1941-1945.

Coach B. Mack will have to turn to a new signal caller as his son Keith Mack is now a freshman at Auburn. Mack didn’t have to look too far, actually just down the hall in his house, to find a replacement. Another Mack will get the starting nod, sophomore Brodie. “We don’t need him to be a superstar, really just turn around and hand the ball off,” said the Coach.

“We’ve got a great offensive line and a really talented running back this year.” That back is Joe Britt. Britt led the team in rushing and receiving last year. The 5 foot 9, 170 pound senior rushed for 727 yards and 6 touchdowns while catching 22 passes for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also picked off 4 passes from his defensive back spot and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

The War Eagles defense only allowed 7 points per game in the regular season a year ago. 6 starters return led by Senior linebacker Leroy Berry who had 123 tackles and Senior defensive end Brian Waters who recorded 9 sacks. “We think we’ll be strong again,” says Mack.

A late season matchup with Orlando Jones High School looks to once again decide the district championship. Mack will seek to lead Astronaut to its 5[sup]th[/sup] such title in a row.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
1986 Schedule
(District Games in Bold)

[xtable=231x@]
{tbody}
{tr}
{td=32x@}H{/td}
{td=77x@}9/12/1986{/td}
{td=122x@}Sanford Seminole{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}H{/td}
{td}9/19/1986{/td}
{td}Cocoa Beach{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}A{/td}
{td}9/26/1986{/td}
{td}Seabreeze{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}A{/td}
{td}10/3/1986{/td}
{td}Rockledge{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}A{/td}
{td}10/10/1986{/td}
{td}Satellite{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}A{/td}
{td}10/17/1986{/td}
{td}Leesburg{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}H{/td}
{td}10/24/1986{/td}
{td}Titusville{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}H{/td}
{td}10/31/1986{/td}
{td}St. Cloud{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}H{/td}
{td}11/7/1986{/td}
{td}Eau Gallie{/td}
{/tr}
{tr}
{td}A{/td}
{td}11/14/1986{/td}
{td}Orlando Jones{/td}
{/tr}
{/tbody}
[/xtable]
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
9/12/1986

Sanford Seminole at Astronaut

ASTRONAUT GETS OVERTIME WIN

Astronaut opened the 1986 season with a 16-13 thrilling overtime victory against visiting Sanford Seminole. The War Eagles have now won 36 consecutive regular season games.

Neither offense gained much traction in the first half. The only score came on Roy DeYoung’s 21 yard field goal with 38 seconds left before the break, to give Astronaut a 3-0 lead.

Seminole took the lead with 7:38 left to play in the game on an 11 yard touchdown run. The 7-3 lead came after a 9 play 80 yard drive. Astronaut answered, going on a 5 minute drive which spanned 70 yards and 10 plays. Joe Britt scored on a 1 yard touchdown run with 2:38 left to give Astronaut a 10-7 lead.

The Seminoles drove to the War Eagle 8 yard line connecting on a 41 yard pass play. They then converted a field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime. In overtime, Sanford gained 2 yards on 3 plays and kicked a 25 yard field goal to take a 13-10 lead.

On Astronaut’s drive, Coach B. Mack turned to Joe Britt. Britt picked up 7 yards on first down. Then on 2[sup]nd[/sup] down, the senior squeezed into the end zone for a 3 yard touchdown run to secure the 16-13 win. Britt finished with 96 yards on 23 rushes.

“We escaped,” said Mack. “I think our defense played really well but on offense we have some work to do.”
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK:
This was a 16-7 win for the War Eagles. Astronaut held the Seminoles to 87 yards of total offense. The only Seminole score came after a lateral pass sailed over Joe Britt’s head and a Sanford defender picked it up and returned it to the Astronaut 2 yard line. Sanford then punched it in to take a 7-0 lead.

Tied at 7-7 with 3 minutes left, Seminole lined up for a punt. The punter stood at the back of the end zone and couldn’t catch a high snap which grazed his fingertips and went out of the end zone for a safety and a 9-7 Astronaut lead. After a shanked free kick, Astronaut was faced with 4[sup]th[/sup] and 15 on the Seminole 30 with just over a minute to play. That’s when Britt took a handoff and dashed 30 yards for a touchdown, putting the final score at 16-7. Britt gained 81 yards on 13 carries and had two touchdowns.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
9/19/1986
Cocoa Beach at Astronaut

War Eagles Crush Cocoa Beach

Astronaut (2-0, 1-0) picked up the first district win of the season with a 45-3 thrashing of visiting Cocoa Beach. Joe Britt dominated the field of play with 235 yards on 20 carries and 5 touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving).

Britt, a senior running back, set the tone from the get go. On the game’s first play he dashed 64 yards for a touchdown. Cocoa Beach was forced to punt on their first possession and Britt returned the kick 25 yards to the Minutemen 41 yard line. After a 7 yard pickup on first down, Britt then broke away for a 34 yard touchdown run and a quick 14-0 War Eagle lead. At the end of the first quarter, Britt caught a 2 yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Brodie Mack.

Britt added his 4[sup]th[/sup] and 5[sup]th[/sup] touchdowns of the night in the 2[sup]nd[/sup] quarter with runs of 1 and 31 yards. Cocoa Beach got on the board with a 28 yard field goal with 55 seconds left in the half.

Roy DeYoung kicked a 22 yard field goal with 48 seconds left in the 3[sup]rd[/sup] quarter to push the War Eagle lead to 38-3. Fullback Greg Hovis rounded out the scoring with a 3 yard touchdown run in the 4[sup]th[/sup] quarter to make it 45-3.

“We played a complete game,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack. “Good to see the offense get going. Joe was fantastic. Our offense is going to go as he goes.”
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni

REEL TALK

This was a 42-7 win for Astronaut. Joe Britt rushed for 215 yards on 13 carries and 4 touchdowns. The touchdown runs were 1, 79, 35, and 27 yards. It pushed his season touchdown total to 6. Sophomore tight end Bruce McKinney caught 2 passes for 104 yards, including a 48 yard touchdown.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
9/26/1986
Seabreeze at Astronaut

WAR EAGLES BEAT SANDCRABS IN DEFENSIVE BATTLE

Defense was the name of the game Friday night at Draa field as the Astronaut War Eagles kicked a last second field goal to beat Daytona Beach Seabreeze, 6-3. Astronaut moves to 3-0 on the season while Seabreeze falls to 2-1.

Neither offense could muster much of an attack as Seabreeze outgained Astronaut 92 to 82 in total yards. After a first quarter fumble recovery Astronaut took over on the Sandcrab 33 yard line. The War Eagles drove to the 12 but Roy DeYoung’s 29 yard field goal attempt fell short.

In the second quarter, Astronaut’s Johnnie Brown intercepted a Seabreeze pass, returning it 13 yards to the Seabreeze 13 with 1:21 remaining. Astronaut gained 5 yards and settled for a 25 yard Roy DeYoung field goal as time expired, heading into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

Seabreeze finally got on the scoreboard with a 21 yard field goal with 4:16 remaining in the game. After an Astronaut punt, the Sandcrabs moved the ball to the War Eagle 44. The Astronaut defense came up with the play of the game. Linebacker Rod Harris picked up a fumble and returned it to the Seabreeze 5 yard line with 1:24 remaining in the game. Astronaut ran 3 plays, gaining only 1 yard. DeYoung then kicked a 21 yard field goal with no time remaining to give the War Eagles the victory.

“This was a tough one,” said AHS coach B. Mack. “Neither of us could move the ball. We may not have scored if not for the turnovers.”
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

This was a game I was able to flip the outcome of (and keep the fictitious 38 game regular season win streak intact). Seabreeze scored first on a 25-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter, taking a 7-0 lead. Twice in the 2[sup]nd[/sup] quarter Astronaut came within striking distance but were turned away on fourth down tries. First, from the one foot line and then from the 8 yard line. Both times Corch Donnelly said he didn’t think about kicking field goals, because either they would score or have great field position.

The War Eagles finally broke through with a 2 yard Joe Britt touchdown run with 10:27 left in the fourth quarter. It was the first offensive points allowed by the Sandcrab defense on the young season. Britt finished with 137 yards on 22 carries. The Astronaut defense played well, limiting Seabreeze to only 118 yards of total offense. However, the deciding points came after Seabreeze returned an interception to the Astronaut 28. After picking up 14 yards the Sandcrabs connected on a 31 yard field goal with 1:31 left to secure the 10-7 win.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
10/3/1986

Astronaut at Rockledge

Astronaut improved to 4-0 (2-0 in Class 3A, District 5) with a 31-14 win over the Rockledge Raiders (2-2, 1-1) at McLarty Field Friday night. The win was the 39[sup]th[/sup] consecutive regular season victory for the War Eagles. They could tie the state record of 40 consecutive regular season wins when they travel to Satellite Beach next week.

The War Eagles came out strong as Johnny Brown returned the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. Roy DeYoung added a 23-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter to give the War Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Brown scored his second touchdown of the night with 4:38 left in the half on a 1 yard run. The plunge capped off a 7 play 63-yard drive and the War Eagles went into halftime with a 17-0 lead.

Rockledge got its first break with 3:55 left in the third quarter when it recovered a fumble by Astronaut Sophomore quarterback Brodie Mack. The turnover gave Rockledge the ball at the Astronaut 39 and they were able to turn it into points with a 3-yard touchdown run with 20 seconds left in the period.

Any chances Rockledge may have had went by the wayside with 9:02 left in the 4[sup]th[/sup] quarter as Joe Britt darted for a 60-yard touchdown run to make the score 24-7. After punting, Rockledge was able to pick up a Britt fumble and return it 40 yard for a touchdown with 6:11 left, making the score 24-14. The War Eagles then went on a 12 play 74 yard march culminating in Britt scoring on a 2 yard run, making the final score 31 to 14.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

This was a 31-0 win for Astronaut. Joe Britt carried 24 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. Brian Waters returned a blocked put 36 yards for a touchdown. Rockledge was held to 118 yards of total offense.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
10/10/1986

Astronaut at Satellite

WAR EAGELS TIE STATE RECORD, BEAT SCORPS 30-14

Astronaut tied the state record for consecutive regular season wins with a victory over Satellite Friday night. The visiting War Eagles won their 40[sup]th[/sup] consecutive regular season game and moved to 5-0 on the season with a 31-14 triumph.

Satellite took a 7-0 with 6:29 left in the first quarter on a 1 yard touchdown run. Astronauts next drive stalled and Roy DeYoung nailed a 25 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 with just under a minute left in the first quarter.

Astronaut’s Joe Britt then scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to surge into control of the game. First, Britt scored on a 27-yard run with 8:28 left in the half. Then Jeff Boyd intercepted a Scorpion pass at the 22. Two plays later, Britt had his 2[sup]nd[/sup] score on a 15 yard run. Then after a Satellite punt, Britt took off on a 64 yard jaunt for his 3[sup]rd[/sup] score. The extra point was no good. Satellite completed a 22 yard touchdown pass in the final minute to close the halftime score to 23-14.

The War Eagles then put things away with Britt’s fourth scoring run of the night. This time from a yard out with 8:20 left in the game, the 5’ 9” senior made the score 30-14. The march was an 18 play 78 yard drive that burned 9 minutes and 40 seconds off the clock. Britt picked up 146 yards on 24 attempts to go along with his 4 touchdowns.

Astronaut will seek to set the state record next week at district foe Leesburg. “The fact that it’s a district game is more important than any record,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

Joe Britt was spectacular in a 28-0 win for Astronaut over Satellite. He scored 4 touchdowns. Two of his scores came on runs of 20 and 13 yards. He also caught a pass and raced 60 yards for a score. And to top it off he returned a punt 59 yards for a td. It brought his TD total to 11 in 5 games. At this point in the season he has 792 yards on 96 carries.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
WAR EAGLES SET RECORD

Astronaut won its 41[sup]st[/sup] consecutive regular season game Friday night at Leesburg with a 27-7 win. The district win moves the War Eagles to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Class 3A, District 5. Leesburg falls to 2-4 and 0-3 in district games.

The first scoring came with 6:38 left in the first quarter when Astronaut quarterback Brodie Mack threw a short 4-yard touchdown pass to running back Joe Britt. Britt scored again on a 40 yard punt return with 2:04 left in the half. A missed extra point left the score at 13-0.

Britt scored on a 48-yard touchdown run with 8:53 remaining in the third quarter. Britt had another standout game on the ground with 202 yards on 20 carries. Leesburg made it 20-7 with a 68 yard touchdown pass with 8:11 left in the game. Senior fullback Greg Hovis finished out the scoring with a 4 yard touchdown run with 3:06 left, to give the War Eagles a 27-7 final.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

This was the third consecutive shutout for the War Eagles, winning 20-0. Britt injured his ankle and was limited to 46 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Greg Hovis turned in his best performance of his career with 162 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Johnny Brown helped pick up the rushing slack as a well with 58 yards on 12 attempts and touchdown. Astronaut outgained Leesburg 313 to 153.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
10/24/1986

Titusville vs. Astronaut

ASTRONAUT OVER RIVAL TITUSVILLE, 27-10

Astronaut got 138 yards and a touchdown from Joe Britt on the way to a 27-10 win over crosstown rival Titusville. The War Eagles moved to 7-0 on the season while Titusville fell to 2-5.

Titusville gained a 3-0 lead with 4:14 left in the first quarter on an 18-yard field goal. Astronaut’s Roy DeYoung returned the favor with a 33-yard boot to tie the game with 7:21 left in the first half. Hubert Williams intercepted a Terrier pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown with 44 seconds left to give Astronaut a 10-3 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Greg Hover scored on a 1-yard run with 4:25 remaining to make it 17-3. The drive featured a 32-yard burst by Britt. Titusville answered with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 17-10 at the end of the 3[sup]rd[/sup].

Roy DeYoung’s second field goal, a 29-yarder made it 20-10 with 7:16 left. Then with 3:30 remaining Britt scored his touchdown on a 20-yard run.

The victory was dampened by an injury to Senior tight end/defensive end Jeff Boyd. Boyd, who caught 1 pass for 21 yards in the contest, suffered a broken collarbone. “We are gonna miss his blocking and play on the defensive line,” said Astro Coach B. Mack. “It’s a shame for his senior year to end like this, he is one of our leaders.”
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

This was a defensive struggle. Astronaut ran 43 plays, 35 of them rushes by Joe Britt, who picked up 149 yards. The game was tied 3-3 after exchanging first half field goals. Britt scored the only touchdown of the game with 10:46 left in the 4[sup]th[/sup] quarter. Titusville’s other points came when Astronaut took a safety deep in their own territory late in the game. The defense hung on for 10-5 win.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
10/31/1986

St. Cloud at Astronaut

WAR EAGLES CRUISE PAST ST. CLOUD

Astronaut’s defense held St. Cloud to only 63 yards and got another outstanding rushing performance from Joe Britt in a 28-0 district victory Friday night at Draa Field. St. Clouds hopes for a district title vanished on this Halloween night as they fell to 2-2 in district play and 4-4 overall. Astronaut is now 8-0 with a 4-0 district record. The win sets up a showdown with Orlando Jones in two weeks for the district title and playoff berth.

Britt, who massed 194 yards on 24 carries, got the scoring started with a 14 yard touchdown run with 3:15 left in the first quarter. Astronaut drove the bell well in the 2[sup]nd[/sup] and 3[sup]rd[/sup] quarters but two missed field goals kept the score at 7-0.

As the 4[sup]th[/sup] quarter began Britt scored on a 9 yard run to cap a 9 play 77 yard drive. With 6:30 left Brodie Mack connected with Tight end Bruce McKinney for a 10 yard td pass, making it 21-0. The final score came on Greg Hovis’ 1 yard touchdown dive with 1:07 left.

“We played well. Maybe should have scored some more, but I’ll take a district shutout win any day,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

This was a 21-7 win for Astronaut. Britt rushed for 176 yards and 2 td’s, including a 75 yarder in the 3[sup]rd[/sup] quarter. After this 8[sup]th[/sup] game of the year Britt crossed the 1,000 mark and stood at 1,163 yards and 16 total td’s for the year to date. He became only the third Astronaut 1,000 yard rusher and 2[sup]nd[/sup] to do it in the regular season. David Bovain @Travis7401 in 1973 did it the regular season and Reggie Herring passed the mark in 1976 including playoff games.

The papers stated that Corch Donnelly would not reveal to the paper or to Britt what the record was. He stated he wanted to keep the incentive there and would “look it up after the season.” I suppose the prep beat reporter didn’t have the time to go looking through the microfilm at the library (or his own paper’s HQ).
 
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Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
11/7/1986

Eau Gallie at Astronaut

Britt, War Eagles, Rout Commodores

Joe Britt rushed for 258 yards on 22 carries Friday night at Draa Field to lead Astronaut to a 49-10 win over Eau Gallie. The War Eagles rolled to 537 yards with 475 on the ground.

Britt scored first on a 64-yard run with 8:32 left to play. After an Eau Gallie punt, Sophomore Quarterback Brodie Mack scored on a 73-yard run, his first career touchdown. The big plays didn’t end there. After Eau Gallie managed to get on the board with a 22-yard field goal, Britt scored from 54 yards away to make it 21-3 early in the 2[sup]nd[/sup] quarter. As the half neared an end Mack hit Britt for 36 yard touchdown pass. The touchdown was set up by Rod Harris’ interception returned to the Eau Gallie 38. On the third play of the drive Britt took off on a route out of the backfield and Mack hit him in stride just before the goal line to give the War Eagles a 28-3 halftime lead.

In the 2[sup]nd[/sup] half, Johnnie Brown scored on two touchdown runs and Greg King added another. Eau Gallie added a late touchdown to make it 49-10.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK:

Astronaut won this game 34-7. Britt carried 7 times for 208 yards. In the first quarter he scored on runs of 50, 79, and 38. Johnny Brown added touchdown runs of 63 and 28 as he had 99 yards on just 3 carries.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
11/14/1986

Astronaut at Orlando Jones

WAR EAGLES WIN DISTRICT TITLE OVER JONES 3-0

ORLANDO-It was a tale of turnovers as Astronaut clinched the Class 3A district 5 championship Friday night at the Florida Citrus Bowl with a 3-0 win over Orlando Jones. The win finishes out a perfect regular season and continues a 45-game regular season winning streak. The War Eagles have not lost a regular season game since the 5[sup]th[/sup] week of the 1982 season. Including playoff games, the War Eagles are 51 and 3 over that stretch. The district championship is the 5 in a row and 11[sup]th[/sup] in 15 years for Astronaut.

“This was a tough game, we barely won this but I’m proud of the way the kids hung in,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack. “We probably should have scored some more but the turnovers stalled us several times. But our defense came up with the key stops to seal the win.”

In the first quarter, Mack’s son, Sophomore Quarterback Brodie Mack was intercepted giving Jones the ball at its own 43. The stingy War Eagle defense allowed just 103 yards in the game, and got the ball back for the offense forcing Jones to punt. The only points of the game came on Roy DeYoung’s 19 yard field goal with 7:36 left in the half. A drive later, Mack threw his second interception stalling a drive at the Jones 34. The Tigers mounted a drive and threatened to take the lead but Safety Wilbur Rodwell Intercepted a Jones pass at the Astronaut 10 with under a minute to play in the half.

Jones next threat came early in the final quarter, they drove to the Astronaut 28 and were faced with 3[sup]rd[/sup] and 7. This is when Rodwell once again stepped in and intercepted a Jones pass at the War Eagle 17. Astronaut then began to drive. They turned to senior tailback Joe Britt, who finished the game with 124 yards on 21 carries. Britt carried 5 times for 42 yards on the drive to move into Jones territory. However, Mack lost the ball on a scramble and Jones recovered with 5:51 left in the game at their own 25.

The Tigers then drove to the Astronaut 30 where they had first down and ten. Once again, Rodwell saved the day by pouncing on the Jones Running back fumble, giving the War Eagles the ball with 2:38 to play on their own 31. “We gotta give the game ball to Wilbur, he came up with those turnovers to end 3 drives into our territory,” said the elder Mack.

The War Eagles then kept the ball on the ground driving to the Jones 8 and winding the clock down to zero. Britt carried 5 times for 44 yards on the final drive to clinch the title. Britt finishes the regular season with school records of 1578 yards on 212 carries.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK

Astronaut won this game 16-0, clinching the district title and a 9-1 record. Joe Britt rushed 32 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns. The shutout was the 4[sup]th[/sup] of the season for the War Eagles. They allowed more than 7 points only once, in the week three 10-7 loss to Daytona Seabreeze. The defense set a record for points allowed by giving up only 43 in ten regular season games.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
11/28/1986

District Playoff

Astronaut at Bartow

WAR EAGLES ADVANCE WITH 14-7 WIN

Astronaut picked up a hard fought 14-7 win over the Bartow Yellowjackets. Bartow entered the game undefeated and finishes the season at 10-1. Astronaut is now 11-0 and will travel to Clewiston in next week’s Class 3A state semi-final game.

The War Eagles scored with 2:56 left in the first quarter when sophomores Brodie Mack and Bruce McKinney connected on a 10 yard touchdown pass. The drive was keyed by senior tailback Joe Britt’s 41 yard run. It was Britt’s best run of the night as he finished with 89 yards on 26 carries. Britt gained over 1500 yards in the regular season setting the school single season rushing record.

The teams then traded turnovers as Brian Waters recovered a Bartow fumble at the Yellowjackets 28-yard line. Astronaut could not take advantage of the good field position as Mack threw an interception that Bartow returned to the 37. On the very next play Bartow fumbled once more with Greg Hovis falling on the ball for Astronaut at the Bartow 34. Astronaut drove to the Bartow 17 and stalled. Roy DeYoung’s 34-yard field goal attempt fell short.

After a Bartow punt, Mack drove the War Eagles 46 yards in ten plays, connecting once again with McKinney on a 14-yard touchdown pass with just 14 seconds left in the half.

The 14-0 lead for Astronaut held up for most of the second half, as the tough War Eagle defense didn’t allow Bartow to score until 1:07 remaining in the game on a 13-yard touchdown pass. Bartow’s onside kick attempt was unsuccessful and the War Eagles escaped with a victory which avenged last year’s playoff defeat to Bartow, the defending Class 3A state champions.

“This was a tough ballgame. I’m really proud of our defense, they held them all game until that last drive,” said Astronaut Coach B. Mack. This is the 6[sup]th[/sup] trip to the state semifinals that Mack has made with the War Eagles in 15 years as the school’s only coach.
 

Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
Bartow Game stats:
 

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Bmack

IRREGULAR HUMAN USER
Mod Alumni
REEL TALK:

This was a loss for the War Eagles. Both defenses controlled the game for much of the contest. Bartow punted from its own end zone in the third quarter, and Joe Britt fielded the pass at the 44 and zipped into the end zone. However, a clipping penalty nullified the score. Years later, when I was on the freshman team, one of our coaches recounted this as he was a member of the team. He was speaking to us about discipline and how penalties can hurt you. However, his memory seems to be off as he said it was an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. Oh well.

Astronaut was able to move to the Bartow 33 but on 4[sup]th[/sup] and 12 they elected to punt. The teams exchanged punts until Bartow went on a drive culminating in a 2 yard touchdown pass with 57 seconds left. The War Eagles drove to the Bartow 30. Two passes into the endzone were did not connect and a sack on the final play gave Bartow the 7-0 win. Britt was held to 43 yards on 19 rushes. Bartow outgained Astronaut 142 to 136.
 
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